The San Saba news. [volume] (San Saba, Tex.) 1873-1966, 1887-11-11
A GREAT AUCTION.
A PLACE IN PARIS WHERE
EVERYTHING Is OFFERED.
The Spectacle at the Hotel Drouet
Things Sold There-Artt-
cles Sent Prom All
Parts ofthe World.

II PHotel Drouot is not the largest
stationary auction in the world, it is at
least the most curious, writes Emma
Bullet in letter from Paris to the Brook
lyn Eagle. Built in 1871 it has ever since
! been an immense budget box for ever
changing million and one things which
have already passed through the hands
| of one or many owners. Along long
| halls wide doors open into large square
rooms, in which universal variety of
things are hung up and exposed for show,
and where bills are posted enumerating
the objects to be sold and the date ofthe
sale. A counter separates the public
( from the chief auctioneer- commiSsaire
priseur-his assistant and the expert.
The entrance to all the rooms is public,
and thousands of people daily pass
through them TO buy, to look round, to
kill time; while some, it is said, men and
women, promenade the halls and rooms
in quest of adventures and victims.
In one room a gallery of paintings,
bronzes, bric-a-brac and antiques will in
vite you to its inspection. This is very like
a collection whose owner has been years
| in making it, and whom bric-a-bra has
rendered pennilcss, or whose love for
things passes with their possession. Next
TO this you will probably find the costly
appointments, jewels and lases of a lady
| wnoss-esaizneai reputation is pro-
nounced. She has put up her belongings
for sale, perhaps for the sake of advertise
ment or for making money, or because
she, at this late day, has become convinced,
like Camille, that love in simple cottage
is the most unalloyed. Going on further.
you find the entire furniture of well
established house exposed to view-one
of the numerous sales after denth. When
the father of q minor dies the law de-
mands all moveables and property to be
sold TO settle the estate. Therefore, all
the deceased's belongings, from tin
dipper to painting worth its weight in
gold must pass under the auctioneer's
hammer and all these sales generally
take place at the Hotel Drouot. Pass
ing on to the next room, you will proba-
bly, view all the glittering frippery, cos
tunes, appointments and properties of
theater into bankruptcy. You leave
this rag bag of refuse properties
to enter into a show of porce-
laines hailing from ali nations,
probably gathered by one of the M
mcrous victims of a passion for collec-
tons. Opposite to this, you are likely
to meet with the exposition of another
collection of artistic objects sent from
half way round the world tc be sold it
Paris. For this city and London have
.1,a .,,auo,,,,I.- 0f c,,ch uola- and 1urinr
the season-from October to January
rHotel Drouot is packed with loads o.
things hailing from Italy, Holland, Bel
GUM and in fact from all parts of the
world, to be turned into money. Tht
adventures of collection of paintings
sent here in 1884 from New York i.
doubtless still vivid to many minds.
The Brazilian Consul to New York theT
sent large and most precious collection
of paintings to l'Hotel Drouot to be sold.
They were addressed to the great expert,
Mr. Bernheim, with flaming notices at.
tached to every canvass attesting theii
great value, rarity and antiquity. Thu.
Rubens was labeled admire this pic.
ture which cost $40, OO0.n And this Var
Dyck. costing 81, 000." There was a Sal
vator Rosa which was beyond compare,
and Bcni beyond price. Some Teniers,
Corots, Rousseaus, which had been
bought at the Duke de Morny's sale.
Duke dc Morny never had sale. AT
the first glance Mr.. Bernheim saw that
all these paintings, without an excep-
ton, were not genuine, and Immediately
cabled the fact to the owner On the
spot the unfortunate man stopped the
sale. cabled that he had been grossly
humbugged by the vendors, and that he
was ignorant of the spuriousness of his
collection. Mr.. Bernheim did not for
moment doubt the gentleman's word, for
in that case, what could have pushed
him TO send the pictures to the place
where they were most likely to be esti
mated at their just valued 1t is de-
plorable fact that laws exist in all coun-
tries to punish the sale of many spurious
articles, of eatablcs and others; that
severe inspection is instituted to appre
bend the vendors of such, and yet no
law has ever been passed anywhere for
the punishment of fraudulent sales of OBJ
jects of art. 1t is probably because the
most expert among experts can never bo
positively sure and give sufficient guar
anty for the genuine origin of such arti-
Giles, no positive proofs OF their authen-
ITCHY.
The auctions az rIIotel Droubt are in
the hands of aucNoneers-
priseurs-anG experts. There is a syndi-
cate of the former which holds control
of all the sales A few among the num-
Der are considered most expert and in
dispensablc to good financial results.
For instance, a sale of objects of art
must be in the hands of NJ. Cheyallier to
bring in large profits. One might infer
from that that the few favorite auction
GERS make all the money. Such is not
the case, for according to the regulations
of the company every auctiOneer must
throw half of the net proceeds of what
he makes into common fund, whichis
equally divided among all, those who do
much and those who do little. For the
right to fill the place of a retiring or de-
ceased auctioneer is often paid as high as
s12, 900. But they all make money, for
beside what an auctioneer makes indi-
vidually his social benefits from the funds
often run up to 81, 900 year. The auc-
tioneer is responsible to the purchaser for
the article sold and the price it has
brought to the vendor. Six per cent. of
the sale is levied for expenses of auction
eering, also certain per cent. is asked
for the vendor.
Some merchants and experts spend
years at the Hotel Drouot in search OF a
'sstroke.n To make stroke is, for in
stance, to pay SEQ for an object and then
sell it for $1,000 Generally all The
strokes are made at an auc.i
totally blind at thsS1 eight